Updated 10:20 pm, Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Aaron Ramsey, 22, of Wilton, is arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court in Norwalk, Conn. on Friday May 4, 2012 for the alleged murder of his father. In state Superior Court in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, Ramsey asked for a transfer to a high-security prison meant for inmates with mental health issues during a pre-trail hearing.

Public defender James Lamontagne talks to client Aaron Ramsey, 22, of Wilton, who is being arraigned in Norwalk Superior Court in Norwalk, Conn. on Friday May 4, 2012 for the alleged murder of his father.

STAMFORD -- Accused murderer Aaron Ramsey sobbed in court Tuesday, listening to a recording of himself telling police how he brutally beat and stabbed his father to death in their Wilton home on the afternoon of May 3.

Ramsey said he beat Edward Ramsey, 73, of 125 Signal Hill Road, with his hands and a piano bench, before finally grabbing a kitchen knife to cut his throat.

"I definitely wanted to end it pretty quick," Ramsey said on the recording. "I wanted to slit his throat. I got the best knife I could."

The 22-year-old told police the knife kept slipping through his hands because they were sweaty and he "couldn't get a good slit on it." So he stabbed his father in the neck, stomach, groin, chest and head so he could make him "bleed out."

The gruesome recording was played in state Superior Court in Stamford on the first day of Ramsey's three-judge trial to determine whether he was legally insane at the time of the killing. Ramsey is being held at the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown.

If Ramsey is found guilty by reason of insanity caused by mental defect or deficiency, he will be sentenced to Whiting until he is found competent and not a danger to himself or others. If that occurs, Ramsey will not serve any time in prison.

Ramsey entered the courtroom Tuesday afternoon in a striped shirt and nodded to his mother, who sat with her other son and five women. Judge Richard Comerford told sheriffs to remove his handcuffs and the hearing began.

Wilton Police Sgt. Thomas Tunney took the stand, saying he was called to a Cheese Spring Road home on May 3, where Aaron Ramsey was found lying on his back, covered in blood.

"He was very upset and agitated," Tunney said. "He was yelling and screaming, almost howling."

Tunney said they checked Ramsey for injuries, but could only find a small cut. He said Ramsey wouldn't identify himself, so they transported him to Norwalk Hospital.

Police then received a call from the neighboring Ramsey house, where SuAnne Ramsey found her husband's body on the floor of their bedroom. When they arrived, Tunney said she was yelling for Aaron Ramsey, saying, "Where are you? What did you do?"

Officers saw a bloody shoeprint at the door and found a white man on the floor, not breathing. "There was a lot of bleeding and there was heavy trauma to the head -- mostly to the left side of the head," Tunney said.

Assistant State's Attorney Richard Colangelo showed Tunney pictures of the crime scene and he identified a screwdriver, wrench, knife and piano bench as being found near the body.

Tunney said police identified Aaron as her son and, after receiving a description, determined he was the same person they sent to the hospital.

Public defender Howard Ehring further questioned Tunney about Ramsey's condition when they found him; he said he was flailing his arms and legs and wouldn't respond to questions.

Wilton police detective Robert Cipolla testified he was sent to the hospital to interview Aaron. He said Ramsey told him he was up all night, exercising and gaining strength to "fight evil."

Cipolla said Ramsey gave him a verbal account, but due to severe lacerations on his right hand, he could not get a written statement. He said he then made the recording, which is 46 minutes long.

On the recording, Ramsey said on the morning of May 3 he heard his father playing the piano and thought he was trying to hypnotize him through his music. He said his energy started flowing and he became "more and more violent."

Ramsey got his father to open his door and asked him if he's been following him. He said he believed like his father was lying and told him to leave the house. In response, Edward Ramsey told his son to get out.

"What happened next?" Cipolla asked.

"And then, I beat him to death," he answered.

Ramsey described how he struck his father in the head with a "death blow," then continued beating him with the bench. "And maybe I kicked him, I don't know," he said.

Pausing and becoming confused at times, Ramsey said his father was bent over when the bench slipped out of his hands. So he continued beating him and kicking him in the head. He said his father could have fought back, but he didn't.

That's when Ramsey said he went to the kitchen and got the knife because a voice told him to end it. He then stabbed his father with the knife and stomped on him.

"It looked like he was on the brink of death," he said. "I stomped his head into a mush."

After the killing, Ramsey said he ran down the driveway, into a neighbor's yard. When asked if he took drugs that day, Ramsey said "no" but he felt like there was heroin in the water.

When asked if he was sorry for what happened, Ramsey answered, "Absolutely. I wanted to free the slaves," he said. "I guess my fantasy was to bring everyone together and have a party."